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The Sarmizegetusa bracelets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2010

Bogdan Constantinescu ,
Ernest Oberländer-Târnoveanu ,
Roxana Bugoi ,
Viorel Cojocaru  and
Martin Radtke
Bogdan Constantinescu*
Affiliation:
Horia Hulubei National Institute for Nuclear Physics and Engineering, Atomiştilor 407, Bucharest 077125, Romania
Ernest Oberländer-Târnoveanu
Affiliation:
National History Museum of Romania, Calea Victoriei 12, Bucharest 030026, Romania
Roxana Bugoi
Affiliation:
Horia Hulubei National Institute for Nuclear Physics and Engineering, Atomiştilor 407, Bucharest 077125, Romania
Viorel Cojocaru
Affiliation:
Horia Hulubei National Institute for Nuclear Physics and Engineering, Atomiştilor 407, Bucharest 077125, Romania
Martin Radtke
Affiliation:
BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Richard-Willstätter-Strasse 11, Berlin D-12489, Germany
*
Email: bconst@nipne.ro
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Abstract

We present the authentication and analysis of these beautiful Dacian bracelets of the first century BC, originally pillaged by treasure hunters and recovered thanks to an international crime chase. They were originally fashioned from gold panned from the rivers or dug from the mines of Transylvania and hammered into the form of coiled snakes. The lack of context is the greatest loss, but a votive purpose is likely given their proximity to the great sacred centre at Sarmizegetusa Regia.

Keywords

RomaniaSarmizegetusaDacianfirst century BCgoldbraceletshoardsacred centreWorld Heritage Site
Type
Research articles
Information
Antiquity , Volume 84 , Issue 326 , December 2010 , pp. 1028 - 1042
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2010

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